Judge Acquits Teen-ager Of 1982 Longwood Rape

August 15, 1985|By Elaine Bennett of The Sentinel Staff

SANFORD — A Longwood teen-ager, found innocent six months ago in a 1984 rape case, was acquitted Wednesday in Seminole County Circuit Court of charges he raped a woman in 1982 after breaking into her home.

Circuit Court Judge Robert B. McGregor granted the acquittal for William R. Dukes Jr., 17, saying there was insufficient evidence to prove Dukes either broke into the home on July 1, 1982 or raped the victim.

Neither Dukes nor his attorney, Chris Smith, would comment after the acquittal.

The 35-year-old victim, however, said, ''It makes me angry. I still believe he's guilty. He'll do it again and maybe next time he'll get caught.''

The woman testified for about two hours earlier Wednesday, recalling that she was awakened by someone straddling her in her bed. She said the intruder held a knife to her neck as he raped her, then led her at knifepoint to the dining room, where he robbed her of $7.

Afterward, the man allowed her to go to the bathroom and when the woman returned a few minutes later, the man was gone, she testified. She said the attack occurred while her four children, ranging in age from 2 to 9 years, were sleeping.

She could only describe her attacker as a white male, possibly 16 years old, with a medium to small build. He was wearing a T-shirt, gym shorts and a garment resembling a pillow case, with holes cut out for the eyes, over his head.

After the attack, she told Seminole County deputies that she didn't know who raped her, but she provided names of several people who could have fit the description of the intruder. Although the victim knew Dukes, she did not list him as a possible suspect.

Dukes did not become a suspect in the case until February, soon after he was found not guilty in connection with an Oct. 23, 1984 case, where a Longwood woman was raped during a burglary at her home.

After that acquittal, sheriff's investigators recalled the 1982 case and noticed similarities in the two assaults. They said the victims lived within a mile from each other, both assaults occurred during the early morning hours and similar methods were used during the attacks.

Dukes was arrested in the 1982 case in March and charged with sexual battery, robbery and burglary of a dwelling, after his fingerprints were matched with those found in the victim's home.

Although the victim in the 1982 case said she was not aware that Dukes had ever been in her home, there was no testimony that someone other than the victim may have allowed him inside the home.

Judge McGregor said that Dukes' fingerprints may have been on the window inside the house prior to the burglary and rape.

After hearing that Dukes was acquitted in the 1982 case, the mother of the victim in the 1984 case began to cry. She would not comment.